Kabul: The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) and the UN Women Afghanistan announced on Wednesday that gendered ceasefires are a prerequisite for peace talks and a negotiated settlement. The organizations noted that women have throughout history proven to be pioneering ways to end conflict and have been participants of the peace process while advocating for the rights of women and girls. “Yet often,

Kabul: According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, 174 hectares of forest have been gutted so far following a fire in the forests of Nuristan in Nurgaram district. The fire, which is spreading, is the result of an armed conflict between two ethnic groups in Nurgaram district and has been going on for four days. On Wednesday, the Minister of Agriculture, Anwar

Kabul: Abdullah Abdullah, the chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR), said that the fall of the districts not only has military consequences, but also causes irreparable damage to the process of humanitarian aid, public facilities, women, children and schools. Abdullah made the remarks on Wednesday at a meeting entitled "Ensuring ceasefire and Achieving Peace" in Kabul. The meeting was organized by

Kabul: The Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday recorded 1,722 new cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) infection in the past 24 hours. The ministry also reported 94 deaths and now the death toll is 3,842, while the total number of positive cases stand at 96,531. In the past 24 hours, 391 people have been recovered from the infection. The Ministry of Health has asked citizens

Kabul: In a surprise move, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday met US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha, Qatar’s capital and exchanged perspectives on the war-torn nation and the region during his second visit to the key Gulf nation in a week. India, a major stakeholder in the peace and stability of Afghanistan, has been supporting a national

Kabul: Afghanistan's Supporting Open Media-Nai, has said that Amrullah Saleh, the first vice-president, has fired four staff members of the Interior Ministry's Department of Crimes for publishing and sharing information with the media. A statement issued by Nai on Wednesday stated that according to Article 50 of the Constitution, access to information is the right of every citizen and that the government is obliged

Kabul: The Technical Committee for Fire Prevention has given commercial centers and fuel stations 20 days to implement safety measures to prevent fires. The committee has warned them that those who do not take these measures seriously will be shut down after the deadline gets over. Syed Nizam Pachai, director general of the Interior Ministry's General Directorate of Natural Disasters and Firefighting, told a

Kabul: Taliban insurgents launched their offensive at security checkpoints in Eshpashta area of Kahmard district of the Bamyan province at 2am on Wednesday, said Bamyan Governor Sayyed Anwar Rahmati. Rahmati added that clashes were currently ongoing in the area and that five security personnel had been killed and many others had been wounded. The Bamyan governor added that although no details were available on the

Kabul: Five healthcare workers carrying out a polio vaccination campaign in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province were killed on Tuesday, and four others were injured, during a series of attacks condemned by a senior UN official on the ground, as brutal and “senseless”. The UN humanitarian coordination office OCHA, said that the deaths and injuries occurred during five separate attacks on healthcare workers – the latest

Kabul: Peace negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government resumed in Qatar on Tuesday, their first meeting since talks stalled in April. It followed a flurry of diplomacy that saw the UN’s Special Representative Deborah Lyons and US Special Envoy on Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad in Doha to jumpstart the process this month. “A meeting was held between the contact groups of the two